"Dr. Laura" Continues Criticism of ALA

Staff -- Library Journal, 05/10/1999

Radio talk show host and conservative moralist (andphysiologist) Dr. LauraSchlessinger has continued attacks on the American LibraryAssociation (ALA)for recommending the Go Ask Alice web site in its TeenHoopla guide for teenagers. On her April 23 show, shedescribed it as "aporn site advocated, suggested, by ALA" and said, "Nexttime in your town,when the budget comes up for libraries, eliminate it untilreasonable,decent persons are in charge." On her May 6 show she calledthe ALA "twits."The ALA initially received some 200 mostly criticalE-mails, then about 50messages in support.

The ALA Teen Hoopla site recommends links for those aged12-18, and somelibrarians have even said that the advice site -- gearedinitially tocollege students -- is inappropriate for those at theyounger end of thatrange. "It's not meant as a site for 12 year olds and in myopinion ALA'sselectors made an unfortunate error," commented Net-MomJean Armour Polly ina publib post. She recommended an alternative site forpre-teens and youngteens, called KidsHealth, which has a much tamerteens section. Othershave pointed out that the site may well be useful toyounger teens,depending on their developmental level. Linda Waddle,deputy executivedirector of the American Association of School Librariansand the YoungAdult Library Services Association, both divisions of ALA,said that theadvisory committee that selects and maintains links on theTeen Hoopla sitetemporarily removed the Alice link two weeks age duringtheir review of thesite. It replaced the link after the committee determineditsappropriateness.

At National Library Legislative Day, many in attendancewere not familiarwith the controversy. ALA Washington Office heads describedthe site assexually explicit, but it took John Brisbin, Director ofthe Manchester CityLibrary, NH, to elaborate to the group that Dr. Laura hadfocused onquestions about "how to clean up S&M equipment, small penissyndrome,fisting... it's not as easy to defend as you describe it."But "Go AskAlice" creators (see below) note that the site has a muchbroader range ofquestions.